Neve Daniel

Israeli settlement in the West Bank

Neve Daniel is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located in western Gush Etzion south of Jerusalem and just west of Bethlehem, it sits atop one of the highest points in the area – close to 1,000 meters above sea level, and has a view of much of the Mediterranean coastal plain, as well as the mountains of Jordan. In , it had a population of It is organised as a community settlement and falls under the jurisdiction of Gush Etzion Regional Council. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

Like all Israeli settlements in the Israeli occupied territories, Neve Daniel is considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this. The international community considers Israeli settlements to violate the Fourth Geneva Convention's prohibition on the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory. Israel disputes that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the Palestinian territories as they had not been legally held by a sovereign prior to Israel taking control of them.

Neve Daniel has a mixed population of native Israelis and immigrants from the former Soviet Union, France, Canada, and the United States. The population doubled from 800 residents in 2001 to nearly 1,500 in 2008, and in 2015 to 2,577 residents comprising over 400 families. The majority of residents are religious Zionists.

Ephraim Henry Pavie, a French born architect who made aliyah to Israel in 1983, designed a free form four story concrete house for his family in Neve Daniel. None of the above ground walls is straight. Pavie, whose architectural style Yonatan Kanti of the Israeli daily Ma'ariv compared to the futurism of Eero Saarinen's TWA Flight Center, said the house attracts attention from passers by but is not universally appreciated.